Renewing Old Acquaintances
by Cat929
Summary: One-shot sequel to 'An Old Acquaintance'.


_So, though I truly did love my short story, 'An Old Acquaintance', it didn't have the happy ending that most readers wanted, and I realized that the couple from that story did deserve a happily ever after. So, here it is. I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and as some of you may remember, that story was based on a song, which I didn't give the name to (I wanted to see how many could guess it). In case some of you still haven't read that story, I'm giving the name of the song at the end of this story._

_Happy Holidays!_

* * *

**Renewing Old Acquaintances**

It was four days before Christmas, and Elizabeth sat on the sofa in her small apartment, staring at the CD she had just purchased at the local record shop. She hadn't even known it existed until she heard Will's unmistakable voice coming from the speakers in the store, singing 'I'll Be Home for Christmas'. Well, to _her_ his voice was unmistakable; she'd recognized it instantly, and before she knew what she was about, she had asked the clerk if the song was on a CD. The clerk nodded toward a holiday display, and there she'd found the disc, mixed in with others. And there he was, looking as handsome as ever on the cover, the picture of him standing in the snow arresting her attention for several minutes.

_A CD of Christmas music. _Never in a million years would she have guessed that Will Darcy would do something so...commercial. Upon reading the dedication, printed on the inside of the cardboard holder, she understood his motivation better. He had done it for his mother, who had truly loved Christmas and all its trappings. Apparently, according to Will's brief message, she had asked him several times to do a 'nice holiday record', and he had always laughingly refused.

It's a shame, she thought, that the recording came out after his mother had passed. Elizabeth had gone to the funeral, back in October, and had sat by herself at the back of the small church. Her eyes never left Will. The last time she'd seen him, on Christmas Eve almost a year before, he'd had a full beard. He had shaved, she guessed, for his tour, and had remained clean-shaven. He looked tired and drawn, but as handsome as ever, and sitting there, watching him, she had felt an unexpected yearning bloom deep within her belly. She'd felt it last Christmas Eve as well, but things were different then; her life was too complicated, too overwhelming, and the feelings that he had awakened within her, in their brief time together on that quiet evening, were pushed away.

She saw Georgiana next to him, although they sat at least a foot apart at the front of the church. They didn't turn to each other, didn't offer comfort to each other at all, at least not that she could see. The man Georgiana was with looked vaguely familiar to Elizabeth, but again, he made no overtures to Will either. It was as if they were three strangers seated there together, and it made Elizabeth sad to see it. When they were younger, Will and Georgiana had been close. She was quite a bit younger than him, but he doted on her just the same.

When the services were over, she had planned to leave unnoticed, but it was not to be; he spotted her slipping out a side door, when he had apparently decided to escape the small crowd gathered on the front steps of the church.

"Lizzy?" His voice had startled her as he called out to her quietly. She turned to him, smiling softly.

"Hello Will."

He approached her slowly, cautiously, his eyes bright. "What – what are you doing here?"

"I just – I wanted to pay my respects. I'm so sorry about your mother. I – I remember you mentioning that she'd been sick. I didn't realize it was so serious."

Will shrugged. "We didn't think it was so serious, at first." He sighed. "It was peaceful for her, at least. I was with her..." He swallowed roughly, and Elizabeth could see he was trying to rein in his emotions. He inhaled deeply, then cleared his throat. "Were you trying to sneak away without being seen?"

A flush of guilt crept across her face. "Well...sort of."

He moved closer to her. "Why would you do that?"

Elizabeth shook her head briefly. "I don't know. I – I guess I thought it would be easier if we didn't see each other."

He tilted his head slightly. "Easier for who?"

His voice was quiet, and when she looked at him, she felt it again, that gnawing emptiness that she felt every time she thought of him. "For both of us."

Will had looked at her in confusion then, obviously not comprehending her meaning. When they'd last spoken, she'd been a married woman, but things were different now; Daniel was gone, out of her life. They were better off apart. He had loved her completely and utterly, and it had been enough, for a while. Enough for both of them. But she couldn't love him the same way, not the way he deserved to be loved. At first, he'd fought it, refused to believe that a divorce was what she wanted, but she was insistent. She'd had no right marrying him in the first place, not when such a large part of her heart was engaged by someone else.

So, although she knew she still had some unresolved feelings for Will, she wouldn't pursue him. She couldn't, not yet. Maybe not ever. His career was skyrocketing, taking him all over the globe, and she was here, still living in the small coastal New England town they had grown up in, enjoying her little world. The world he'd felt stifled in and needed to break away from all those years ago.

Just the same, seeing Will that fateful Christmas Eve made her realize that she couldn't continue on with Daniel as she had been. She wasn't being fair to him, or to herself.

"For both of us?" Will had repeated. "What – what does that mean?" He reached forward to take both of her hands in his, and almost instantly, his gaze dropped to her left hand. She knew that he had expected to feel her rings, and had noticed their absence immediately. His deep brown eyes lifted to hers, and she could see the questions there, waiting to be voiced.

At that moment, Georgiana rounded the corner of the church, tears pouring down her cheeks. She glanced at Elizabeth only briefly, obviously not recognizing her, and walked straight toward her older brother. Elizabeth backed away from Will, releasing his hands and stepping aside awkwardly. Georgiana stopped when she was a few feet from them.

"I – I'm sorry, Will. I'm so, so sorry," Georgiana said on a sob. "I wasn't here, I should have been here..." Her voice trailed off as she began to cry harder.

Elizabeth watched as Will closed the gap between himself and Georgiana, not hesitating to pull her into his arms, consoling her, shushing her gently, telling her it was alright, everything would be alright.

Knowing they needed privacy, Elizabeth had walked away, slowly heading toward her car. She got in and drove away, not looking back, feeling an overwhelming sense of deja vu. _One of us is always leaving the other._

The memories of that day slowly left her, and as she looked at the cover of the CD held in her hands, she could almost – _almost_ – let herself imagine how their conversation would have continued, if Georgiana hadn't sought Will out when she did. Inevitably, it was too overwhelming to think about, and only left her feeling bereft and hollow.

She put the CD in to play, and as she listened to the smooth tones of his voice, accompanied only by guitar, she read over the list of Christmas songs that he'd chosen to put on the CD, undoubtedly his mother's favorites. 'Silent Night', 'Ave Maria', 'Baby It's Cold Outside', 'The Little Drummer Boy'...the list went on, a total of twelve songs. Inside the CD cover, next to the name of each song, he had included some small memory of his mother, something that had to do with each song.

The last song on the playlist was 'I'll Be Home for Christmas', which had been playing when she'd walked into the record store earlier tonight. As she read the small blurb he had written next to it, her heart gave a peculiar thump, and for a moment her breath caught.

_This song isn't just for my mother, it's for the beautiful blue-eyed girl I left behind so many years ago. If there's any chance that you would want to see me again, if there's any chance at all for us...I'll be home for Christmas. You'll know when and where to find me._

Elizabeth felt her cheeks flush as her heart pounded out a furious rhythm in her chest. _Is that message for me? Is he coming home? Is he already here, in town? _She read the message over and over again, to the point where she could recite all three sentences, word for word, from memory. _You'll know when and where to find me_. She thought for a moment. _Really?_ Honestly, she had no idea where to find him, except for at his mother's house. And when..._when? _

Suddenly, she knew. The when, and the where; it became so glaringly obvious to her, it almost made her laugh. Sighing, she lay back on her sofa, a small smile lifting the corners of her mouth. For the first time in a long while, the yearning she felt in the pit of her stomach didn't feel quite so difficult to bear.

_~ Three days later ~_

As Elizabeth maneuvered her car slowly down the slick streets, she took in the sights around her, looking at all of the Christmas lights, trying to remain calm. The windshield wipers slapped slowly back and forth, almost keeping time with the music on the radio. There was a fine layer of snow on the ground, but the slight rain was beginning to turn it into slush. There were only a few other cars on the road; most people were snuggled up at home, she figured, enjoying Christmas Eve with loved ones.

She sighed loudly. _Nervousness._ _That's what this feeling is, tumbling around in my stomach_, she thought. It was making her feel giddy and nauseous all at the same time, and it was driving her insane.

_What if I'm wrong? What if that message wasn't meant for me? _The questions popped into her mind for probably the hundredth time in three days. Deep inside she didn't think she _was_ wrong, but there was always the chance. Or, if she _wasn't_ wrong...what if he'd changed his mind since then? What if she got there and waited...and he never showed up?

Shaking the intrusive negative thoughts from her mind, she pulled into the parking lot and waited. Every time headlights approached, her stomach flipped, but then the car would pass on by. Occasionally a car would pull in, and she'd have to fight back the surge of disappointment when she saw that it wasn't him.

At least an hour had passed, and she began to lose hope. She leaned her forehead against the steering wheel and closed her eyes, torn between feeling embarrassed at her eager assumptions, and saddened at what was obviously not meant to be. A knock at the window interrupted her musings, and she sat up quickly, her heart thudding in her chest. A police officer stood there, and he waved his hand up and down, an indication that he wanted her to lower the window. She did, disappointment flooding through her, and stared up at him.

"How are you tonight, ma'am?" he asked, eyeing her curiously.

"I'm – I'm fine," Elizabeth answered, feeling more than a little ridiculous.

"Can I ask what you're doing? One of the employees at the market called, said you've been sitting out here for about an hour. Is everything okay?"

"I – everything is fine. I'm just...I was...well, I thought I was supposed to be meeting someone, but-"

Her words were cut off by another voice.

"She's waiting for me."

Elizabeth knew his voice right away, and as the police officer straightened and turned, she saw Will standing behind him. He was smiling, and holding a bag in his hands. His eyes traveled over her face, and then he turned to the officer, extending a hand.

"I just ran a little late, I apologize for any inconvenience."

"No, that's fine," the officer said. "Just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Don't like the thought of anyone in trouble, especially on Christmas Eve."

"Well, we appreciate it," Will replied. "Have a nice night. Merry Christmas."

"Thank you," Elizabeth called out to the officer through her open window.

"You're welcome. Merry Christmas." The officer returned to his cruiser and drove away.

Will stood outside the car, bag in hand. He bent toward the window. "Hi Lizzy."

"Hi," Elizabeth replied, almost feeling shy. "Um, do you want to get in?"

He nodded, and walked around the car. Elizabeth raised the window and turned the heat a little higher, though quite frankly, she was not in the least bit cold.

Will got settled in the passenger seat and turned to look at her. "I'm so sorry I'm late, I didn't – I had no way to reach you. I'm really sorry."

Elizabeth shook her head lightly. "It's okay."

"How are you?" he asked quietly.

"I'm well. How – how are you?"

He smiled faintly. "I'm doing alright." He cleared his throat before speaking again. "So, um...you must have seen my message?"

He phrased it as a question, and Elizabeth nodded. "I did. I – I wasn't sure it was meant for me, to be honest with you." She noticed the look of disbelief that crossed his face quickly. "How – how did you know I would see it? What if I hadn't come?"

Will shrugged. "Well...I took a chance that _maybe_ you'd see the Christmas CD, and _maybe_ you'd buy it..." His voice trailed off and he shrugged again. "If you hadn't shown up...I would have gone looking for you, I suppose. Probably tomorrow." He grinned at her, and she felt herself melt a little inside. "I had to take a chance," he said, his voice turning serious.

He glanced down at her left hand, before reaching to thread his fingers through hers. "What does this mean?" he asked, running his thumb over her bare ring finger. "Does it mean what I think it means?"

Elizabeth nodded, but that was all. She didn't want to talk about Daniel now, didn't want to explain the disintegration of her marriage. It was too much to get into, way too soon.

He lifted her hand to his lips, placing a warm kiss on the backs of her fingers, before turning it over to softly kiss her palm. Elizabeth's entire body shook slightly, a mixture of excitement and trepidation coursing through her.

"Will?"

He was still studying her hand, but raised his eyes to hers at the sound of her voice.

"What – what are we doing here?" she asked, unable to hide the quiver in her voice.

He smiled a little, turning to glance out the window toward the market where they had met a year ago, then shrugged. "Honestly? I have no idea. Do we have to figure it out tonight?" he asked quietly.

Elizabeth thought for a moment, and shook her head. "No, I guess we don't."

Will reached down into the brown paper bag he'd placed on the floor of the car, and pulled out its contents.

Elizabeth laughed, she couldn't prevent it from escaping. "You brought beer?"

He nodded, smiling. "We already know there aren't any bars open, right?"

"Yes, we know that." She grinned at him, and for a moment, their eyes caught and held. The air in the car seemed to come alive, and she dragged her eyes from his, looking again at the six pack. "So?"

"Oh yeah, beer." He pulled one from the cardboard carton and opened it before handing it to her, then opened one for himself. Holding the bottle slightly aloft, he looked at her again, seeming to search her eyes. "What should we toast to?"

"Oh – um, I don't know..." Elizabeth responded. Several things ran through her mind rapidly – _to_ _us, to second chances, to fate – _but none seemed appropriate, and all seemed entirely too presumptuous. After a moment, it came to her. "How about...to renewing old acquaintances."

He smiled, and his eyes softened as he looked at her. "To renewing old acquaintances," he repeated. They lightly touched bottles and took a sip of beer, still staring at each other.

Without saying a word, Will lifted his hand and gently reached out to stroke her cheek, before cradling it lightly in his palm. He began to lean forward, and Elizabeth found herself doing the same, meeting him in the middle. When his lips were a mere inch from hers, he stopped, pulling back slightly to look her in the eyes again.

"Merry Christmas, Lizzy." He leaned in again, closing the distance between them, and kissed her softly, letting his lips stroke hers over and over again.

Elizabeth's heart beat so rapidly, it felt as though a hummingbird had taken flight inside of her chest. After what seemed like forever, but somehow not nearly long enough, he slowly pulled away. His breathing had changed, and when she reached up to stroke his neck, she could feel the rapid flutter of his pulse under her fingers.

She was distracted by movement outside the window behind him, and she realized then that the dreary rain had dissipated, and in it's place, beautiful white snowflakes were falling once again. Smiling, she leaned toward him, staring up into his eyes before kissing him again.

"Merry Christmas, Will. Welcome home."

* * *

_And there you have it. Please leave a review to let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!_

_The song that 'An Old Acquaintance' is based on is 'Another Old Lang Syne' by the late, great Dan Fogelberg._


End file.
